Screenplay Consultancy – A Big Mistake?

A lot of people have written to me over the last month asking whether I would look over their script for a fee.

To be asked like that is enormously complimentary, and for those that did I thank you sincerely for your faith and that confidence. But each time I’ve said no, and I mostly think I will go on saying no. There’s a few reasons for this, and I thought I’d go into them on here.

Firstly the going rate for story editors is pretty high. You need very deep pockets to hire a professional who is any good.

Also, to do the script editor job properly can take a lot of time. Two or three reads as a minimum, a detailed break down of the story beat by beat, sketching it out, letting it settle, mulling over, coming up with some creative input that helps without hijacking – that can take perhaps three days for me.

But there’s a bigger point. Unless you are actually being paid to develop your screenplay I’m very against this kind of consultancy work in general.

It’s my strong belief is that the ONLY notes on a script that matter are the notes that come from someone who has a serious interest in making it.

I put that in bold because I think it’s very important. After all, I could happily give you all my thoughts on what I would do with your script, and there is a very real risk that I could suggest taking it in precisely the opposite direction to what your next producer/director would want.

My first advice is, when you get to a point where you think you need an outside eye on the thing, just lock your screenplay away in a drawer. For the next few weeks buy or borrow or download some screenplays for movies you like and read them thoroughly, more than once.

After a few weeks (say six, minimum) have elapsed, then get your screenplay out and give it a good critical read yourself.

Coming at it cold like that will let you see problems that are just invisible when you are still in the heat of having written something.

The bottom line is it’s your script, and it’s your instincts and your voice that count. That’s what they hire you for. That’s true when you start off, and it never goes away.
If you don’t know where to start, just sit there with a pencil and make a mark every time you find yourself looking out the window, or getting up to make coffee. At the end go back to these marks – each mark identifies some problem with your screenplay. Step away from the script on the page, run the sequences through in your head. You’ll pick up any longueurs, any bum notes.

I suggest you do this first BEFORE you pay anyone to read your script!